Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Generally speaking, any ghost capable of marking someone with such unmistakable signs of impending death was a formidable one.

Ghosts like that usually possessed vast divine abilities and tremendous power, and they had no fear of humans. Once they chose a target, they would pick a day to strike without hesitation.

That was why Ling Fang had ordered members of the department to stay with Chai Yuhu around the clock, leaving the malicious ghost no opportunity to attack.

They had thought all they needed to do was wait for it to fall into their trap. Instead, they had encountered the king of all cowards, a ghost so cautious that it stubbornly refused to show itself. Yet it was also unwilling to give up on Chai Yuhu, leaving the situation deadlocked for a time.

Xie Qingling’s words instantly opened Ling Fang’s eyes.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. Was this Hair-Eating Ghost truly the kind of powerful malicious ghost that could take a person’s life the moment it struck?

Judging by all the signs, it did not seem so.

Its method of bringing misfortune upon someone was to inflict nightmares on them, using those nightmares to terrorize and threaten its victim. That was why Chai Yuhu had gone so long without sleeping soundly and had become mentally exhausted.

Its other method was eating hair.

While having one’s hair eaten inflicted severe psychological damage and was deeply humiliating, three successive attacks had still failed to take Chai Yuhu’s life. That suggested it was hardly an impressive divine ability.

So the Hair-Eating Ghost wanted to drag them into a prolonged tug-of-war, a battle of attrition?

Ling Fang, however, had no intention of letting it wear them down any longer.

Now that they had seen through its scheme, continuing to play along would be foolish.

Their people could not afford this kind of drawn-out drain.

Ling Fang looked at Xie Qingling and asked, “Do you have any ideas?”

“We may need to revise our battle plan,” Xie Qingling said.

Ling Fang agreed. “Let’s hear it.”

Xie Qingling then laid out the new battle plan that had taken shape in her mind, explaining every detail to Ling Fang.

Ling Fang thought it over, seemingly weighing whether the plan was feasible, before finally nodding.

* * *

The next day, Xie Qingling brought Chai Yuhu to the office.

Every member of the department was gathered in the first-floor hall. Chai Yuhu felt a trace of pressure, and unease inexplicably stirred in his heart.

He stammered, “Has… has something changed? Do you need me to cooperate with anything?”

Seeing that even his hands were trembling, Ye Anran poured him a cup of calming tea and reassured him, “Drink some tea first. It’ll help steady your nerves.”

Chai Yuhu merely remained silent.

Ling Fang explained, “You don’t need to be so nervous. We asked you here today to tell you that this matter ends here.”

Ends… here?

At those words, not only Chai Yuhu but the other members of the department also turned to Ling Fang in surprise. None of them understood why the operation was suddenly being called off.

Were they no longer going to protect Chai Yuhu?

Were they no longer going to deal with the Hair-Eating Ghost?

They exchanged glances, but after years of obeying orders, no matter how many questions they had, none chose to voice them now.

“Does that mean I’m safe?” Chai Yuhu murmured.

He rubbed his scalp. After several days of rest and recovery, fresh dark stubble had begun growing from his scalp. It looked as if he would have a crew cut again before long.

At least he was no longer bald.

Ling Fang said, “Don’t worry. For the moment, the situation is still under our control.”

“Starting tomorrow, you can return to your normal work and daily life. We won’t disturb you anymore.”

Hearing Ling Fang’s assurance, Chai Yuhu sighed in relief, and his mood lightened.

To be honest, having two people shadow him at every moment for the past several days and being strictly watched whether he was eating, drinking, or using the bathroom had felt little different from prison, even if they claimed it was for his protection.

Prisoners might even have had more freedom than he did.

Now that the operation had ended, it was tantamount to announcing that he had served his sentence and was being released.

“Then… then I’ll be going? Thank you for protecting me all this time,” Chai Yuhu said.

“Finish your tea first,” Ling Fang said.

“O-okay.”

Chai Yuhu gulped down the tea, bringing his visit today to a successful conclusion.

* * *

At half past two that afternoon, Chai Yuhu walked out of the office.

The sun was blazing overhead. Squinting, he stared at it for several moments, then gave a lazy yawn and slung a canvas bag over one shoulder with one hand.

There was no longer anyone at his side protecting him around the clock. He had regained the greatest possible freedom, whether traveling or eating.

Following his old commuting routine, Chai Yuhu headed to the subway station, rode a crowded train for several stops, and returned to his studio apartment.

It was Tuesday, a workday.

After taking a full week off, it was about time for Chai Yuhu to return to work.

He took out his phone and opened WeCom. In the few days he had been away from his post, private messages from his coworkers and supervisor had nearly blown up his inbox.

When he opened them, every message contained their heartfelt concern.

Most of them asked when he would recover, when he could come back to work, and told him how much they missed him.

Yeah, right. They had probably been crushed beneath the heavier workload after he left.

Anyone could guess that bloodsucker would never hire someone else to share the workload just because Chai Yuhu had been absent for a few days. The only possible outcome was that all of his usual tasks had been divided among everyone else.

For the sake of his coworkers’ survival, Chai Yuhu quickly sent a message to the group chat:

“My condition has stabilized, and I’m healthy again. I can return to my position and resume work tomorrow.”
The boss generously sent the group a red packet containing a total of one hundred yuan divided into two hundred shares, taking the lead in congratulating Chai Yuhu.

Everyone else quickly followed suit.

Once the miscellaneous work matters were settled, Chai Yuhu had nothing left to do.

He had little social life and few friends, and what had happened to him recently was hardly suitable for sharing with anyone. With nothing else to occupy him, he could only lie in bed and sleep.

He slept far more soundly than expected.

So soundly that nothing happened at all. He slept straight through until Wednesday morning, when his alarm finally rang.

There were no recurring nightmares to disturb him, and when he woke, the short length of hair he had only just regrown had not vanished without a trace.

Chai Yuhu picked up his bag, put on the plaid shirt that was practically a programmer’s uniform, took his laptop, and began another long, tedious day as a corporate wage slave.

After nearly being flattened into a pancake on the subway, he finally reached the company.

“Beep – congratulations, clock-in successful.” Chai Yuhu withdrew his employee badge and headed up to the twenty-third floor.

As soon as he entered the office, Chai Yuhu placed his bag at his workstation.

Then he started working.

Chai Yuhu was diligent and reasonably competent – the legendary sort of hardworking employee who could be worked like a dog.

But after everything he had been through, he was not in particularly good form today.

Bugs kept appearing in his programs, and his code was poorly written too.

“What’s going on with you, Xiao Chai?” The team leader checked his work and scowled fiercely. “This is just a piece of open-source code. There’s barely anything to it. Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, tap a few keys, and you’re done. How could you even mess this up?”

Chai Yuhu rubbed his head. “Sorry, Team Leader. I’m better now, but I may not have gotten my feel for the work back yet. Could you give me a couple of days to readjust?”

The team leader was speechless.

What the hell did he mean, his ‘feel’? Did he think he was playing a video game?

The team leader glared hard at him several times. He wanted to lose his temper, but did not even have the energy – he was so busy he simply had no time.

“Fine. Adjust as quickly as you can. Remember, the market won’t stop and wait for you.”

“Okay. I understand.”

Getting scolded on his very first day back made Chai Yuhu sigh deeply.

His coworker at the neighboring workstation poked his head over and said, “Why don’t you go home and rest for another couple of days? What’s the rush to come back? Last time my dad got sick, I asked for three days off and the boss wouldn’t even approve it.”

Chai Yuhu heaved another sigh. “I stayed home for a whole week. I was practically growing mold.”

“I don’t get you. You have a chance to rest and you’re still unhappy.”

“Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment. I can’t sit still.”

At last, noon arrived, along with lunchtime.

A coworker invited Chai Yuhu to eat at the cafeteria, but Chai Yuhu declined.

“I brought my own lunch, so I won’t go to the cafeteria. I can just heat it in the microwave.”

His coworker stared at him wide-eyed as though meeting him for the first time and exclaimed, “Whoa, seriously? You prepared your own lunch? Wait – you didn’t get a girlfriend, did you?”

Chai Yuhu only smiled without answering.

“Damn!” His coworker was plainly devastated. The thought that there was still not a single woman in his own life while Chai Yuhu had apparently found a girlfriend just by getting sick made him feel that the world was terribly unfair.

Where was his wife?

Was she that desktop computer that had kept him company for years and was close to draining him dry?

God, no.

Was he really going to spend the rest of his life with a computer?

Just thinking about it felt unbearably bleak.

After his coworker left, Chai Yuhu remained alone in the office. He took several meat buns from his canvas bag and washed them down with hot water, filling his stomach in the simplest, crudest way possible.

That afternoon, he slacked off at his workstation again, drawing several successive eye rolls from his team leader, until he finally endured his way to quitting time.

At last, an utterly ordinary day of wage slavery was over.

Working was exhausting.

I never want to work again in this lifetime, Chai Yuhu thought.

He chose not to work overtime, giving up the double overtime pay. He clocked out on time, squeezed onto the subway, and returned to his studio apartment.

After checking the time and washing up, Chai Yuhu climbed straight into bed and went to sleep.

He had barely expended any energy today – even his work had been halfhearted – so it took him a while to gradually sink into sleep.

Chai Yuhu did not sleep as soundly tonight as he had the night before.

At around midnight, his previously even breathing suddenly grew somewhat rapid.

Chai Yuhu dreamed that he was lying atop the surface of a limpid lake. His body would not move and felt as heavy as if it had been filled with lead.

This was what it felt like to be trapped in a nightmare. His mind was still reasonably clear, and he knew he was dreaming, yet he could not wake no matter what he did. Though he retained some awareness, he seemed unable to command his limbs to move.

A figure suddenly appeared in the dreamscape, which had been completely empty until then.

It was a monster.

The monster had thick limbs and blue-black skin. About the size of a calf, it crawled slowly across the ground.

It had a human face, a single silver horn atop its head, three eyes, and a vertical mouth splitting its face.

Step by step, the monster approached Chai Yuhu. It climbed onto his body, crouched beside his head, and lowered its own head. At the same time, it opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

But in the next instant…

“Chai Yuhu,” who only a moment ago had seemed trapped by the nightmare, suddenly smiled. Far from being scared out of his wits, he reached out and seized the Hair-Eating Ghost’s hand.

“Got you at last.”